If Volvo Made a Camaro, It’d Look Like This

Volvo is calling it the “next-generation P1800,” a nod to the automaker’s iconic coupe from the ’60s. But even a cursory glance of the Concept Coupe has us thinking muscle car, and since Volvo can’t come up with a more imaginative name, in the fine tradition of Swedish furniture, we’ll call it the KMARO.

Due to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, Volvo’s svelte coupe does have a hint of P1800 flavor in the form of raised ridges that flow from the door and over the two-door’s shoulders, but that’s where the similarities end. The rest of the design is an amalgamation of an Aston Martin greenhouse and hood combined with the automaker’s traditionally blocky front and rear ends.

Inside, there’s a hand-cut crystal shifter mounted beneath a large touchscreen that replaces all but a handful of the knobs and buttons on the dash. It should be interesting to how Volvo justifies that decision given the automaker’s safety-centric reputation.

Far more interesting is what’s motivating the concept: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder combined with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. The gas-burning engine powers the front wheels while an electric motor provides thrust out back, and Volvo claims that the combination is good for V8 power — specifically 400 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque.

It’s just too bad that Volvo won’t make the KMARO, and instead will use the styling themes to serve as the basis for its next-generation XC90 SUV due out next year.